Employability is key, says BPP

A recent report from training provider BPP has revealed that 73% of companies find that new graduates and school leavers are lacking in business skills.

127 companies were surveyed, including HSBC, Aviva and the Times. 59% of larger companies said they experience trouble during the hiring process, with candidates lacking employability skills. Out of eight factors, employability was ranked as the highest priority for employers, followed by a positive attitude.

Professor Carl Lygo, Chief Executive of BPP says: “The answer is partly about ensuring graduates are employable – for example here at BPP we have about a fifth of the bar students in this country, but they go on to take a third of all pupillages. Also, employers are now moving to take more school leavers at the age of 18 and provide higher apprenticeships (this is a work based apprenticeship that combines a degree and apprenticeship training – something being pioneered by the Skills Secretary Matthew Hancock). This is seen as a better way of ensuring the next generation are much more work-ready.”